


I will be just outside the door

by AsphyxiaOrange



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Bathing/Washing, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Nudity, Orange, Partial Nudity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-07
Updated: 2019-08-07
Packaged: 2020-08-11 01:22:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20145229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AsphyxiaOrange/pseuds/AsphyxiaOrange
Summary: Robin goes to take a bath after training. This story takes place around CH11/the Prologue, and before Lucina happens or any of that business, but after Support S's initial conversation. There is nudity, some romance, but there is no... uh... lemon/lime business. Purely Orange Territory.





	I will be just outside the door

It’d been a long, dreary day.

Robin was tired, sweaty, and distracted. There were so many things to consider, to think about, and Robin wanted to just…forget them all. The day was nearing to supper, so the chefs were preparing something already. The smells wafted through the castle aimlessly. It made Robin sick to smell things, to sense things, and not be able to interact. Robin wanted to stuff her mouth, to indulge, but she had to wait.

So, the bath had to come first.

There were a few wash rooms inside the castle. One for the King or Queen or whoever was ruling- a Private washroom. There was one that the Princess, Lissa had claimed for herself. There was one for the guard barracks, and one that Chrom had set aside specifically for the Shepherds to use.

Though Robin felt like she had gotten quite close to… uh, well, _Chrom_, who was now the King, she felt like she sat in an off place between a very good advisor and something entirely more. They’d had one or two awkward encounters since they met, and he even told her that he loved her! But where were things supposed to go from there? Things felt correct, but she wasn’t sure what was supposed to happen after that. Were things supposed to change between them? _Would it be bad if things stayed the same?_

Peace times were upon them, but she couldn’t help but feel like that made things weirder. After all, she’d met the Shepherds all through battle. Now that things were at peace, she oversaw the daily training they held alongside the guards, which was the most comfortable she could get to her previous position possible.

Robin dressed down to nothing and held her towel close to her chest. Since she was turning to the bath so early, she hoped she would have it to herself.

So she thought.

The water was so fresh on her skin- the texture of smooth, loose water felt so nice. She let it drip down her arms, running little creeks that traced her veins. It wasn’t completely warmed, but it didn’t have to be. As long as she could get clean, and as long as she could chase away the tiredness that pulled her eyelids southward so early.

She dipped a toe into the water and watched the ripples run away to the edges. Something about this was like combat, almost- a strategy. She curled her toes on the surface of the water, and purposefully held out on getting in.

Something was off. Something was always off. At the back of her mind she felt this ticking… that made her wonder if she was where she was supposed to be. She put her foot into the bottom, but nothing got rid of the steady, rhythmic tapping at the back of her heart.

Second foot was in. She stood over the water and caught sight of her own reflection staring back at her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The thoughts were worse when she was alone.

She dropped down into the tub so that her shoulders were right above the waterline. She watched the ripples again. This time, it was more violent, more rapid. Something about the movement soothed her as it lapped against her skin.

_ Tap, tap_, she patted the tension and watched more ripples form. She smiled.

She stopped tapping the water, but felt her heart rate go up when she heard a continued tapping.

_ Plap, plap _\- heavy footsteps on the stone floor. Robin put her hands on the edge and leaned forward to look, apparently she was not the only person in this washroom.

“Oh, hey,” Chrom said casually, as he noticed her there. _Butt naked_, as he was last time. And now she was naked, as he had accidentally seen the time before that. Now, it was at the _same time_.

And now, the context felt… different. They had talked about how they felt- it wasn’t the same as when he was just… the King accidentally peeping on his Tactician.

But his towel was slung over his shoulder.

His… _ everything _ was out.

Robin leapt back so fast that water jumped around the basin and splashed onto the floor. “Chrom!” She yelled, flustered. She had one hand cover her torso, and the other reached behind her for the nearest object to throw.

If he didn’t learn from last time, she had to make her target more memorable. This was _ not _ going to be a regular occurrence if she could help it. “I told you before, cover ** _up_ ** !” And for Pete-sake ** _knock_ **!!” She screamed through gritted teeth.

She found a vial and lobbed it quite too high, and he leaned forward and caught it. “Oh, whoops,” he said as he bent down to put the vial down.

Everything was still out for the world to see.

Robin turned away to face the wall, so it wouldn’t be so distracting. What was he doing in there, anyway? _He had his own bath_! Sure, this was a distraction, like she asked for, but it was not the preferred form. Robin shook her head as she was filling her hands with more vials to throw.

A distraction. Not even just that… she racked her brain to try and remember, but often when she was training with Chrom, she was very distracted. And yet, the thoughts that plagued her waking hours were clearer, more simple. It seemed like a contradiction, but a distraction from the clicking and buzzing gave her a clearer head.

She weakly tossed the handful of vials behind her with a flick of her wrist, not powerful enough to even reach him halfway across the room. The vials slid across the tiles. Robin leaned her face against the stone wall with her arms still crossed on her torso. 

Chrom leaned down to pick up those vials as well. His eyebrows creased when he looked at them. Robin had so much gusto before, so much power in her swing- was morale low? How should he approach to situation? Should he approach it at all?

He took a quiet, tentative step forward. When Robin didn’t move or respond, he advanced. He crouched down next to the basin and lined up the vials on the edge. One of the vials was labeled for hair growth- did one of the older guys leave that in here? He half smiled and held that one up.

“Trying to tell me something, tactician?” he asked as he dangled it above the others.

She turned slowly, careful to keep herself covered, as he was now audibly closer. Her shoulders rose defensively as she turned and saw his face leaning on the edge of the tub. His lip in a pout, the vial up against his cheek, brushing his skin.

She offered a pity smirk.

“Did we not do well in training today?” He asked as he set the vial down, neatly lined up with the others.

Robin took a deep breath and her eyes looked around the room to find any answer that made sense. “Training was well, our new Unit is meshing nicely with the other Shepherds.” She replied methodically, factually.

He squished his cheek against the basin. “Then why do you feel such ill will?” he asked. He fluttered his eyelashes as if that would make it any easier for her to answer.

She took a deep breath as she looked into his eyes. She wasn’t sure what to tell him. His still-sweaty hair was caked to his forehead. Robin took another deep breath. She felt like she was running out of time to give a suitable answer. She shifted a bit in the water and tried to ignore the spattered dirt that drew her eyes to the edge of his jawline. She almost forgot they were both stark naked.

“I do believe, some creep is watching me_ bathe _,” she said with wide eyes.

He was tempted to lean away, but he kept leaning on the edge of the basin. “Whom, M’lady?” He asked with pursed lips and feigned innocence.

She pressed her lips together in an attempt not to laugh, but a chortle escaped her.

“You!” She said. “Why are you naked in this bath? Don’t you have a bath fit for a king?”

“I don’t feel like a king. And when Emmeryn was ruling, I used this one. I’m used to this one.”

She splashed at his face. 

He flinched and brought his hands up to block. His arms knocked down some of the vials in the process- sone flew outside of the tub and some into it. 

Robin squealed.

Chrom reflexively started to pick up the vials again. Mindlessly, he reached his arm into the basin to recover the last two that fell.

Robin froze up, her legs were tightly held together as his arm was now digging around the bottom. He didn’t even realize what he was doing, as his eyes were locked onto the vial.

Robin, wide eyed, watched his arm carefully as he grabbed the vials. She was tempted to yell at him, but she found herself agape and ready to yell, but with no sound leaving her. His arm was glistening from the dying light still streaming in from the windows, and she had to admit that he had nice arms.

But it was now way into her personal space. She had a new feeling, much like the desire to eat food when she could smell it down the hall. 

She wanted to touch his arm. She resisted, the shock helped with that.

Only when Chrom had the vials in his hand and was removing them from the tub did he realize how ridiculous what he was doing really was. Her legs tensed up. His hand brushed her hip underneath the lukewarm water, and his eyes- surprised- suddenly met hers. He slowly removed his hand from the water and added the two wet vials to his other hand.

She reached behind her for another vial to throw and prepared herself to try and yell again. She had allowed him into her personal space for far too long, and he had not kept his hands to himself! Distraction or not, he was too physically close without consequence. As her hand grasped another random object, she watched him carefully. 

He nervously fumbled all of the vials he was holding onto the floor. He picked them up too fast and placed them back on the edge without looking Robin in the eyes. The vials were not uniform as they were before- he was losing his cool.

He wanted to leave before he made things worse, but it felt like it was just another awkward note for them to constantly end on. He was grateful that a Basin stood between them, for a handful of reasons. He ran a hand through his dirty hair, something was wrong with the tactician, surely his presence was not the only problem, as she acted differently than before.

She loosened her grip on the objects behind her. “Thank you for being concerned for me, Milord,” she said softly. 

He leaned back again and grinned, with his hand still parting his hair back. 

She stared. She would ignore how handsome he was if she could, but she couldn’t. 

“Could you hurry with your bath? I need to take my turn,” he said. It was too casual, as if it wasn’t a tender moment. She shot him a dirty look.

“You _ interrupted _ my bath,” she said with a flat tone.

“Oh, am I distracting you?” He asked with a sly smile. His confidence was back.

her face wrinkled. “You, distract me? Hah!” She mockingly shook her head. Was he fishing for compliments, or trying to test the waters of something else?

“Well if it doesn’t bother you, I could just bathe alongside you, save time.” He said. He leaned up against the tub again. This time, he draped his arm along the edge. His shoulders hiked up. The veins along his arms led her eyes in a path back up towards his face. 

Robin recoiled, “Milord, that’s improper!” She scolded him. She grabbed two vials from behind her and tossed them at his face lightly. 

He closed his eyes reflexively and watched as the vials fell into the water. He blinked slowly as they floated down, down.

“Robin,” he said in his low, smooth voice. He used his free hand to reach for the vials that he has messily lined up on the side of the basin. One-by-one he flicked them into the water. She watched him as his smile faded.

“You are not being yourself. Are you strategizing my attention?” He asked as another vial drifted down. “You didn’t say no.” He hit another into the water. “You didn’t tell me to leave,” he mused as he pushed the last one into the basin. She watched him carefully.

“Robin,” he continued, softly, before demanding, “Come here.” His gaze was sharp, cold, it was almost like a glare. His arm that had moved the vials dangled off of the edge, and his fingers lingered just below the water’s surface.

Robin obeyed.

She was usually the one calling the shots, but he was right. She didn’t tell him to stop or to leave, and part of her knew he’d pick up the flung vials, that he would notice her demeanor- she desired for his concern, his attention.

She scooted towards him, the water wobbling around her.

“Are you all-right?” He asked, sincerely, gently.

She did not dare look away. “Ser,” she started, but she hesitated, “when…” her face turned red, “with… with you here… I am all-right.”

Maybe it was too much to say. Of course, they had already said so many things, but…

He stared.

Was this truly even the time and place for such things? 

His hand rose from the water and found her cheek. The gentle touch of his calloused hand made goosebumps crawl all over her again. 

She leaned into it. Her own hand followed, and she placed behind his to keep it there. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. 

She only opened them again when his parted lips met hers. She took a sharp inhale through her nose, but did not shy away. She was water. Fluid. The other thoughts rippled away and she melted.

“I will be just outside the door,” he said as his hand slowly slipped away. 

And away.

He was specific to cover himself this time, per her request, and disappeared from sight.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> The WIP title for this was "Chrom is a HIMBO" but I had to change that oops  
I also drafted it at like, 2am before I had be up at 7am and I had to fix a lot of details that I accidentally fudged. Oh well, my beta reader liked it, so I wanted to post it here<3


End file.
